Aug. 



1887.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



127 



standing close by in the water and entered a 

 liole some four feet from the ground. On wad- 

 ing to the stump I found as usual, I could not 

 find out the contents of the nest without break- 

 ing away the sides of the entrance, and on do- 

 ing so discovered live young, some two or three 

 days old and an addled egg. This egg has the 

 spots arranged chiefly in a wreath round the 

 big end, and measures .Gl x .47 ; (the six eggs I 

 found in my first nest showed no appreciable 

 difference in size or shape from this). The 

 nest as usual was a aiere lining of grass and 

 fine weed stems. Nine inches deep in the 

 hollow. 



My experience this year leads me to think 

 that in former years I have been too late in 

 looking for the nests of this bird, and I hope to 

 do better next year by looking earlier for them. 



Both the broods of young mentioned above, 

 grew up and left the nest without any misfoi-- 

 tune, although exposed through my investiga- 

 tions to the full view of any passer-by, human 

 or otherwise. As they gradually took on their 

 full supply of feathers 1 noticed as in the case 

 of the young found in 1885, that the feathers of 

 the crown were bluish like those of the back, 

 and with not a ti-ace of brown, but the nuchal 

 white spot was quite conspicuous. As I have 

 never taken a specimen with the crown bluish, 

 I presume the brown is assumed with the fall 

 moult. 



In conclusion I may state that the broods of 

 young appear to keep togetlier till they pair in 

 the following spring, and invariably seek their 

 food in company with their parents in the pine 

 trees. For purposes of comparison, I give av- 

 erage measui-ements of this species and the 

 I?ed-l)ellied Nuthatch, both from specimens 

 taken heie : Brown-headed Nuthatch, (S'itta 

 jmsiUa) I.. 4.21, w. 2.51, T. 1.31, E. 7.S7. Ked- 

 bellied Nuthatch, (Sitta canadensis) h. 4.35, 

 w. 2.54, T. 1.35, E. 7.92. 



The Two Species of Kinglet as ob- 

 served at Raleigh, N. C. 



BY C. S. BRIMLEY. 



Ruby-crowned Kinglet, {Rogtdus calemlulu.). 

 This active little bird is quite common here 

 during the winter months ; arriving in the fall 

 about October 19th, and becoming plentiful a 

 few days later. It remains connnon till the 

 first week in April, the last specimens being 

 usually seen about Apiil 13th, a week or ten 

 days after the bulk have left us for the north. 



It is very sociable in its habits while here, 

 being generally found in large numbers in the 

 pine woods in company with the Gold-crowns, 

 Brown Creepers, Pine Warblers and Brown- 

 headed Nuthatches, all of which birds associate 

 together during the winter months in this lo- 

 cality, feeding on ])ine seeds and whatever in- 

 sects they may find. It is also found sparingly 

 in other situations, but rarely in any nundjers, 

 one or two being often found in the alders 

 along the banks of streams or in the oak and 

 mixed woods, but rarely more in anj'^ one spot. 



Though quite tame and fearless in disposition 

 when undisturbed, I have often noticed, both 

 with this species and the Gold-crown, that 

 when one or more are killed, the remainder of 

 the flock get very wild, keeping to the tops of 

 the trees and flying rapidly forward when ap- 

 proached, uttering all the while their faint 

 chips, which with the exception of a sort of 

 chatter, something like that of the Carolina 

 Wren, is the only note we hear here till they 

 burst into song about the end of March. After 

 being alarmed as above by some of their num- 

 ber being killed, they will generally if unmo- 

 lested become nearly as tame as ever in from 

 half an hour to an hour or more's time, but in 

 this case easily take alarm again. 



During the early part of its sojourn with us, 

 most si)ecimens seem to be in full plumage, 

 very few lac^king the crownpatch. Later on 

 the number of dull birds seem to increase some- 

 what, though my observations make me believe 

 that more than one-half of those that stay here 

 are in adult plumage. In this connection it 

 seems worthj^ of remark that on Januai-y 15th 

 of this yeai-, my brother shot a male with the 

 crownpatch orange, and two more, also with 

 orange crownpatches, on the 18th. Several 

 were also shot a little later having the crown- 

 patch not so bright as usual, inclining some- 

 what to orange, which lead me to think th:it 

 possibly the orange patch might occasional 1}' 

 be orange at first, turning to red afterwards; 

 and I was also inclined towards this idea by the 

 fact that these specimens which had the crown- 

 patch orange had the orange feathers brownish, 

 like the rest of the upper side at their tips. 



Gold-crown Kinglet, {Ii('(jnhts satrapa) . fath- 

 er more abundant if anything than the Itub3' 

 Crown, and very similar in habits. This hand- 

 some little bird ai-rives liere about the same 

 time as its relative, but leaves a week or ten 

 days earlier; all departing at once and none 

 seeming to straggle behind as in the case of its 

 congener. This species is more strictly grega- 

 rious than the Euby Crown, solitary individu- 



